Tired of the holidays yet?

[Oh Haha]

I really dislike this time of year. Nothing against Christmas or spending time with loved ones. I just hate the way people behave. I have to deal with some retail stores for my job and although I don't , thank God, have to deal directly with the shoppers, I have to wade through the masses to get my job done.
It's like it's carnival time and all of the freaks and a$$bags come out to play. I have seen more freakin' Amigos clogging the aisles this week than ever. Rude people who have no concept of anyone else around them. Go ahead, ask me about the idiots on the roads who, apparently, left their brains at home. How do people go trough life being such morons?!!!!!!
OK, I feel better now.
No, I do not go Christmas shopping. My wife does most of that.

I need a moat with a drawbridge.

[cantdrv55]

I never tire of the holidays. This is my favorite time of year! Can't wait until tomorrow. That's my last day of work until 1/3/06!

Oh yeah, best place to shop for gifts? Safeway's got every gift card imaginable.

[Mulhollanddose]

Nope...Love Jesus Day. Love the music. Love the festivities. Love the food. Love the symbolism. Love the spirit.

[Porschephile944]

I'm starting to get tired of being home form college for Christmas/winter break, but I'm not tired of the holidays…yet.

[WOODPIE]

No, not even close! I'm only now finding the time to don my gay apparel.....Fa la la, fa la la, la la la.....................


Ed

[Porschephile944]

Sounds like it's time to round up some old friends from HS.

Tell me about it. Hopefully somthing good will be going on this weekend.

[Oh Haha]

Jeez, maybe it IS just me.
Merry Christmas, you knuckleheads!

[SLO-BOB]

No-it's not just you. The other guys must a have a better supply of happy pills.

I can't wait for this to pass. Forget about going to a mall for anything, no parking, throngs of angry shoppers in search of Christmas joy. Doesn't seem as bad this year as last but, it's still very annoying to me. To me, it's basically a month long interruption of normal life.

C'mon January 2nd!

[Rick Lee]

I don't care much for the holidays. I'm slightly agoraphobic and absolutely HATE crowds. I hate them more than anything. I got lucky this year was able to buy every present online. Got notice the other day that the gf's Swiss Army Watch got backordered and so I had to brave the mall to get one. Gawd, that was hell on Earth. I can't wait to move somewhere with a fraction of the traffic we have here. When I think of all the things I have to be thankful for, I think the Internet is the best thing, since it allows me to buy presents while at work.

[Oh Haha]

Thanks for the rescue, Bob. I knew there had to be other folks out there feeling the same way. Wifey just left to go shopping so I am going to the garage to play.

[notfarnow]

3 years ago I was at the mall doing my typical last minute "I don't care what I get them as long as I get them something" shopping. Once again, I had spent more money than I could really afford, was tired and really foul. I was just getting ready to leave and stopped to make a quick call on a payphone. Set my bags down, dialed the number, got a busy signal and hung up. Went to grab my bags but they were gone. All my shopping...about $600 worth of stuff - stolen. I was a student at the time so that stung BAD. I was foul all Christmas. I swore I would never have another crappy Christmas where all my time and energy is focused on STUFF.

The next year, I gave homemade Christmas gifts... my girlfriend (now my wife) made chocolate truffles and pesto, I made cookies and took some pictures that I had framed.

Last year, I got my family, and my wife's, to commit to a "Make it, Bake it, or I won't take it" Christmas. That was the best Christmas I have ever had. I had tapped all the maple trees at our house the year before, and gave maple syrup for presents, my wife made truffles & pesto again. Everyone in the family gave homemade gifts... paper mache things, woodworking... it was awesome.

This year is the same thing, I just bottled the maple syrup last night. My wife and I are baking tonight. I helped my mother bottle 60 bottles of homemade wine last week. Instead of running around at the mall, we're all enjoying time with each other. I cannot even describe how much fun we have... I LOVE Christmas again!

[Rick Lee]

Jake, that's awesome. Too bad my family would never go for it. My mom has made me a few cool quilts and my dad has made me batches of ammo. But I don't think the whole family would do it for each other. Besides, the only way I get the books I want is to give them to my dad as presents first - ha ha.

[notfarnow]

FWIW... the exception the homemade gifts is kids. If they still believe in Santa, then I'll brave the mall. I have 2 neices, and they are the only two I will actually have to buy gifts for.

[notfarnow]

Originally posted by Rick Lee
Jake, that's awesome. Too bad my family would never go for it. My mom has made me a few cool quilts and my dad has made me batches of ammo. But I don't think the whole family would do it for each other. Besides, the only way I get the books I want is to give them to my dad as presents first - ha ha.

It was a hard sell with some of my family, and some of them did buy gifts last year. Next year we're going hardcore... any storebought gifts we receive will go to charity.

Here's a couple pictures of my maple syrup operation. I have 27 maple trees at the house, and I boil the sap down in the spring, then store a bunch of it until Christmas:

Then last night I heated it up again and bottled it:


Hmm... can't find pictures of the finished product... I'll have to load them when I get home

[livi]

I hear you Wayne. If I did not have small children (en masse) Christmas would mean nothing to me. The original theme is nice, I suppose. But it has turned into a pure over commercialized freaking circus. I can´t handle the pressure.

[scottmandue]

Yeah, I was okay until this week, of course being a single middle aged SOB this time of year doesn't help.

But I am blessed, my parents are still alive and in good health, my brother lives nearby and we will have Christmas as his house with my niece and nephews. I have a good job and a nice house to live in a block from the ocean.

God bless you all and merry Christmas!

[Mulhollanddose]

[SLO-BOB]

Hmmmm-if I were a cartoonist, and I were to draw an my impression of today's Christmas, it would be a collage of many things including, but not limited to, overcrowded malls and parking lots, unfriendly people hurrying down the street on a mission of aquiring Christmas booty, the infernal bell ringers glaring at you as you enter any store, ear bleeds from too many versions of "Jingle Bell Rock", drunks wearing santa hats, middle aged, divorced people crying themselves to sleep all alone, the christmas opportunist as described by Jake above, stealing the presents or lifting wallets, and last, but certainly not least, the fat kid on top of a building scoping his AR-15 on all the above because his Dad finally got around to grounding him off of playing Grand Theft Auto on the X-box (which he received as an "early" xmas gift) for torturing small animals.

Who doesn't play well with others?

[dd74]

Sounds like a lot of you guys need more punch in your eggnog.

[red-beard]

I'm only tired of the sameold music and the unwashed masses in the throws of shopping Euphoria.